Wool Omnibus Edition (Wool 1 – 5) (Silo Saga) – Book Review

Man, trying to come up with a great intro about this book is hard, hard. Why? Do you ask? Well, it’s not that often that I read something that really take my conceptions of Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic and a splash of Dystopian, then blows me away with the story telling as they mix together. I had the same feeling when I finished this book, as when the first time I read Dune for the first time last year. Which was “Wow, I totally understand why everyone loves this book and why it’s a classic.” Now, Wool (1) may only have been around since July 2011 as a stand alone short story but reader demand created a push for the four other stories that compile this collection. I have no doubt (As do numerous others reviewers it seems) that people will be talking about this series for a long time to come. Yes, this is essentially in all shape and form, a self-published book, but, don’t you go being some snob and pass this up. It’s been picked up by major publishers around the world and put to print. Hell, Ridley Scott and Steve Zaillian acquired the film rights for the series. There isn’t the grammatical and spelling errors that you run into on someone who doesn’t put in that extra effort to really make sure everything is polished before the hit the “Publish” button.

Imagine a world that is so terrible outside, that your ancestors built a silo in the ground to keep you alive. You assume that you’re all that’s left, some 150 levels of humanity in a hole in the ground. People that live on the “Up-Top” or the first 32 levels, enjoy what is called The View. Basically what the cameras on the top of your silo are picking up the terrible world outside for a bunch of window viewscreens. The cameras do get dirty and need a proper cleaning, but if you go out there to clean, you’ll die. After a cleaning, it’s an event, people come up to see the new view, before it gets dirtied again. So, who is picked for cleanings? Why do they do it, even if they know death is certain? Sometimes it takes an army of an angry mob to cause an uprising, sometimes, it’s just an idea.

The Wool series is hands down, one of my top three Science Fiction stories that I’ve come across. You can’t help but get sucked into the story, especially in the fourth and fifth books as the layers just start coming off and you start to see the thought processes behind everything of just “Why” the Silo is as it is. Honestly, I really, really want to say more, I want to dive into the story and spill out with the goods, but I won’t. These stories deserve better than to be spoiled by some dork on the internet (me) for You if you’ve never read this before. If you have read the book, get in touch with me, I’m in desperate need to conversation about this book.

Maybe I’ll just say this, you may never look at your IT department the same anymore.

Hugh Howey is building something great, and he’s already released the next three books in this series (which are a prequel to explain how the world became what it is in Wool 1). I honestly can’t wait to check them out, and I can’t wait to keep reading more of Wool when he comes back to Juliette and the Silo. If you haven’t picked it up yet, you really should, nothing can beat this trip through the silo, from the Up Top, to IT, the middles with the farms and supply, and the down deep in Mechanical. It’s something that I’ve never truly thought of before, and Hugh doesn’t let us down as he ushers us in.